Omaha daily bee., 1887-02-27
SUNDAY NIGHTS In OMAHA.
Scenes in The Various Dance Halls Of the
City.
THE PEOPLE WHO GO THERE,
A Motley Throng and How IL IS Com
posed - Liquid Refreshments
The Toughs who go There
TO Fight-Sccncs.
The Sunday Dances.

a nOCturnal VlSlt TO the numerous sum
day dance halls in this city would dis.
close the fact that however well the Sab
bath day may be observed in Omaha, the
Sabbath night is not rs vigorously re-
garded as strict Puritan ideas would re-
quire.
There are three or four of these dance
halls in this city, all of which throw their
doors open to the public on Sunday
night One of the most largely patron
lied is hall in the southern part of the
city, several blocks below the Thirteenth
street bridge. Promptly,at eight o'clock
the music strikes up in this resort. The
crowds OF men and women, boys aud girls
begin TO flock IN. In very few moments
the initial waltz is commenced by the Or
chestra, which is composed Of a violin or
two, cornet, clarionct and bass viol. Tho
feet begin 70 fly, and it is not long before
the floor is full of iostlng, joting, but
merry throng OF dancers. a polka or q
scho ttischc succeeds the waltz, then
square dance and so on. The ripple, la.
comus, varsovienne, waltz.Quadrille,
make up a programme which keeps the
crowds busy until after midnight.
ping on the floor of this hall There is
the staid laboring man of Swedish, Dan.
ish or German nationality, who is there
regularly every Sunday night with the
healthy, roSy.cheeked damsel, upon
whom, AS his best girl, he lavishes his af-
fection. Dancing in the same set with him,
perhaps, is gambler, who has left the
faro-table long enough to enjoy the
pleasures of the evening, with female
friend. Opposite him YOU can spy the
brawnv for m of a man who can be seen
any day III the week driving n coal
wagon. \ giddy youth who sells calico
IN a Farnam street dry goods store COM
pletcs the male port on of the set. All
classes of laborlng men, hack drivers,
cab drivers, coal beavers, gamblers, bar
tenders, dry goods clerks, servant girls,
mattresses, and women whose reputation
will not stand critical test, jostle to-
gether in the heterogeneous throng. BY
no means are the dancers confined 10 the
lower classes. Quite occasionally you can
see gliding through the crowd n young
man who belongs to good "sassiety,"
and with whom the best young ladies Of
Omaha are proud to share the pleasure Of
waltz. He has thrown cares and con-
ventionalities to the winds, and is en- Joy
ing might out"
Dancing is by no means the only pleas
ure enjoyed here. On either side of the
main platform is Il long narrow platform,
on which are placed tables. Around these
are seated the thirsty, quatlng beer. wine
or something stronger. White aproned
walters fly hither and thither, anu during
the lntermissioas between the dances are
kept tremendously busy answering the
calls that are made upon them. Though
twenty-five cents admission is charged
for every man that enters the hall, it is
said the larger portion of revenue from,
these dances comes from the sale of
liquor.
About ten or eleven O'Clock the crowd
grows hilarious, and then Il new feature
of the evenings fun is developed. The
fighting begins. There are usually ind
the crowd several specimens of the
than eat square meal. Several glasses
of beer and n real or imaginary gricv-
ance are sufficient to set his fists to work.
ing upon the countenance of his oppon-
ent. For n few moments the scene is n
chaotic mixture of blood, black eyes,
broken noses, sulphurous profanity and
flying beer glasses. A dozen men on one
ging away IN an attempt to part the
pugilists. The police come to the rescue,
work their clubs handiy for a few mo-
ments, and then the fighters are carried,
bruised and bleeding, off to Jail. Several
officers are kept on hand for such emer-
gencies, and manage to preserve very
fair order.
Another dance hall, almost opposite
this one is the Bohemian hall. Here on
Sunday nights the people of this na,iOn-
alty, young and old, enjoy themselves.
to the music of Il fiddle, bass viol and
This hall is not nearly as large
as the other one, and its patrons are al
most entirely limited to the Bohemians.
Beer on the side" with Il fight or two
now and then, adds to the evenings en-
There is another hall also in the south
ern part of the city which is a very pop
ular Sunday night resort, especially for
Germans. From eight O'Clock until after
midnight the pleasures of the dance are
orchestra. These dances are attended
for the most part by the Germans. al
though dancer of the Swedish or Dan
ish nationality may occasionally be seen
gliding through the crowd. Beer and
wine dispensed during the intervals be-
tween the dance-numbers, serve to keep
the thrOng in Il happy mood.
The crowds which attend these differ
cnt dance halls are made up of substan.
TALLY the same elements. The women.
for the most part are respectable, though
several VIGOROUSLY fast characters are
always to be seen in the crowd OF dancers
or spectators 1t must be said that many
of the dancers are young girls scarcely
IN their teens, whose morals, alacki are
rs loose as their parental restraint. And
1t is by no means an uncommon sight to
find small misses of seven, eight or ten
years of age dancing at these places. To
what extent these children must be in
iluenccd by such communicating associa-
tions, let the moralizing reader deter
m